Process of liquefying air and separating it into its elements.



E. JKNBOKE.

PROCESS OF LIQUEFYING AIR AND SEPARATING IT INTO ITS ELEMENTS.

APPLIOATION FILED OUT. 27, 1909..

. 1 00 7 Patented Jan.,30,1912.

PATENT. OFF

Enns'r million, 025' HANOVER, amma.

PROCESS OF LI UEEYING AIR AND s rA Ari-Ne IT rirro rrs ELEMENrs.

, ject of the German Emperor, residing at 31 FerdinandWallbrech's'trasse, Hanover, many, have invented certain new and useful,Improvements in Processes for a Continuous Reproduction of Fluid Airand for. a

Continuous i Separation of. the Same into edients, of which thefollowing is a spec1 cation.

The invention relates to a process for liquefying air andseparating itinto its elements.-

bject of the invention is, to provide a more satisfactory process forthe purpose stated than any of the previously known processes; and, by acontinuation offlthe rocess', to separate the elements of the iquid airinan economical and thoroughly practical manner.

The basic principle of the invention'is to direct cold compressed airinto indirect contact with liquid (which is rich in oxygen) therebycausing the liquid to boil and the air to condense and liquefy.

In carrying the invention into effect, it 1s preferable to employ coilsof pipe, or. the equivalent, wherebya suflicient length of the pi e maybe contained in tanks or vessels 0 convenient and economical size andshape.

, When air, under a given heavy pressure is bein forced throughsuflicientl coldcoils of pipe, has been brought tothe oiling teml asperature of liquid airand oxygen, a relatively slight extra pressurevwill cause the air to liquefy. While thus being converted from thegaseous to a liquid state, the heat given off by compressed air, inpassing from the aseous to the liquid state, will cause the liquid airin the vessel to boil, and part of such liquid airwill pass off asvapor. o nitrogen is lower gen than oxygen, sothat the ercenta' e ofoxygen left n the boiling liquid air will 'be increased. The liquid air,having thus been obtained, passesfrom the pipes into decomosing aparatus, which will hereinafter e descri ed, for the purpose ofelucidatein the process.

he relatively ments of the decomposed liquid air is utilized in reducingthe temperature of the cbm- Gerlow temperature of theele- Specificationof Letters Patent. Patented J an. 30, 1912. Application filed October27, 1909. Serial No. 524,998. 4

gases, used for cooling, be-

at which the air was introduced. I The liquid air thus obtained isalmost the, same in lowing, and as lllustrated in the accompanyin};drawing, in which the figure is a dia- Y grammatic vertical sectionalview of the preferred form of apparatus. I The difierent partstof theapparatus Wlll aring onthe drawings; a being the boil- -1 ng vessel,containing liquid, rich in oxygen. 1& is a vesselcontaimng'almost pureoxygen. 1) is an outlet cock forcontrolling the communication betweensaid vessels. Coils of pipe 9 and 2 act as vapor outlets forthe vesselsat an a respectively; the first, com- -municating directly and thelatter, indirectly through the portions of pipeh, h, coils f or f andthe chamber 0 Through the coils q, 2 extend smaller pipes rf and arespective y. These pipes communicate with an air supply pipe t, andextend through the said vessel a and a in the form of coils r and '8 aportion of their length being coiled within the vessel. The end of eachair supply pipe is connected to .a receiving vessel p, whichcommunicates with a primary charging vessel p, through the pipe u, towhich is fixed a' pressure age '0, and a pressure regulating cocl; b. ymeans of this cock 6 only a relatlvely small port, for the entr ofliquid a1r 'mto the vessel p is provide and it may be adjusted accor ingto the pressure desired to be sustained in the ipes t and u. Theliquidair passes thr'oug the cock 1) into the vessel p'- under hi h pressure;the pressurebemg reduced in t e vessel p, a small portion of the liquidair is vaporlzed and passes oil throu h the coiled pipe w. The pipe 14enters t e pipe 'w throug h'a side thereof, anti pressed air, as apreliminary step in. the process of liquefying the air. During this itus at, approximately the same'temperature I preferabl I employ theapparatus described in the to .be referred to by reference charactersapf enters through a portion of the coil thereof,

and thence out through the side of the pipe w and connects with thecock."-bland thence enters the vessel p. The pipes .14 and w, in therelation described, constitutesa heat exchanger, whereby thetemperature; of the liquid air, entering the vessel p ifs' slightlylowered and the temperature of the gas,

.whence it is admitted through the stop-cock 6, into the vessel a Thevessels In and 10 have vapor outlet pipes oand 0 which con-' nect withthe suction two-way valve 6 It is obvious that by reversing the posi=tions of the valves 12 and b, the priming liquid-gravitates through thecooling vessel 70' instead. of through the vessel is. These vessels isand k are provided with pressure gages'mand with floats e" whichconstitute depth gages. I

It may be well to consider the operation of the apparatus in connectionwith the process. Let it be assumed-that, as an initial step, the.apparatus has been primed, through thepipe w, the valves 6* and b beingin the opposite positions to those shown pipe 0 through the in thedrawing, each of the vessels is and 10 being partiall filled with liquidair, and that as a secon ary step in the operation, their positions havebeen reversed to the positions shown. Atmospheric air is next mtroduced,under pressure, throu h the pipe 2, and suction means (not shown isapplied to the pipe 0 for a purpose hereinafter explained. Thecompressedair from the pipe t, in passin through the pipes r and s and coilsn" an8", causes the liquid in the vessels a and a to boil; and the oxygen gasfrom the vessel a passes out through the pipe 9 which surrounds the pi e8 and by its contact therewith, lowers t e temperature of the airtherein and pre ares it for the lower temperature of the liquid in thevessel at, The li uid, surrounding the coil of pipe as causes t ecompressed air therein to condense, liquefy and precipitate in'thevessel p whence it is elevated through the pipe u and cock 5 and entersthe vessel.

and thereby continuall adds to the primary working charge 0 theapparatus; the elevation of the liquid being effected by means of theair pressure through the pipes t and r and s. The relatively hightemperature of the air, being conducted through the coil 7, causes theliquid in thevessel a to boil the more.

By reason of the partial eva oration which takes place in vessels is ank, the

condensation of the gases an in the liquid. This vapor, as. it passesthrough the coil f or 1" will tend to con-.

dense, owin to "the very low temperature of the liqui air in vessel isand k which is being evaporated at low ressure. The vapor liquefied incoil f or 2 falls'into the trap 72., where, owing to the highertemperature, some of the liquid is again evaporated and passes ofithrough the pipe k coil g and pipe t; but the major portion of theliquid reenters the boiling vessel a, through the chamber 0 while thenitrous gas rises in the chamber h and passes out through the pipe 72.and g; and in passing through this coil g it lowers the temperature ofthe air in the pipe r, by its contact the pipe 1*, and its precipitationinto the ing'the'liquidis greater than in atmospheric vessel fp whenceit continually passes (as ore hereto explained), into the vessel 12' andthence to the cooling vessel k. From this vessel it is admitted into thevessel a.

through the two-way valve 6', this valve being so regulated that thequantity of liquid leaving the vessel is is less than the quantityentering it. Therefore, the quantity of liquid continually increases inthe vessel is while it continually decreases inthe vessel k cons uent toevaporation caused by the suction t rough the pipes 0 and 0. The objectof this suction is to relieve ressure on, and reduce the temperature 0the liquid in the vessel k thereb assisting the (i precipitation of theliquid in the 'coils f When the liqu-id in the'two cooling vessels isand 70 has reached the respective levels shown in the drawing, itbecomesnecessary to reverse the positions of the two-wa valves, and there'- bydivertthe flow o gases and liquid, whereupon, the gases passing throughthe pipe at will enter the coil f instead of the coil 7; and the li uidfrom the vessel p will enter the cooling vessel k instead of la. Theprocess will thus be interrupted only during the operation of reversingthe valves and will then be resumed in substantially the same rotationas described in the foregoing.

I'claim- A process of liquefying air and separatquantity of the liquidair so produced into Y ing a part of said liquid air to evaporate at Intestimony whereof, I aflix my signaindirect thermal contact with thevapors .tial condensation of the vap to F given ofi by the liquid richin oxygen, caus- 'uid rich in oxygen.- 10

less than atmospheric pressure, thus 'caustllre in' he presence of twowitnesses.

' ing a part of the vaporsgiven ofi by the ERNST JANECKE.

liquid rich in oxygen to re1iquefy,- and then Witnesses: adding the partof the liquid air not evap- E. T. HUTQHINGS, orated'and the liquidobtained by the parv R. M.-J. THOMPSON.

